What attracts foreigners to Germany?

Hello and welcome to our weekly round-up of the news from Germany.

[Source: https://www.facebook.com/thelocal ]

What makes Germany so popular for migrants? Two studies out this week proved that the immigration boom to the country shows no signs of stopping. A ranking by the OECD placed Germany as the second most popular destination for long-term migrants in 2012.

And a separate set of figures showed immigration to Germany reached a 20-year high in 2013.

But should the government have to pay unemployment benefit to immigrants coming from the EU? This debate took a step closer to being resolved on Tuesday.

Perhaps some of Germany’s attractions can be found in The Local List which looked at 13 things the country is a world leader in.

This week we also looked at the rapid growth of Germany’selderly workforce.

It was also a busy week for customs officials. On Tuesday we reported how one man tried to smuggle these live exotic animalsin his suitcase. And on Wednesday we reported on a bizarre collection of stuffed animals, including a falcon in an SS hat.

If you’re an EU expat in Germany, remember to vote on Sunday. You can look at the reasons here why some expats are and aren't voting in Germany.

Enjoy your weekend. Hopefully it’ll be better than this man’s.

Best wishes,

Tom Bristow
Editor, The Local Germany